The East India Company was an English, later British, joint-stock company that received a royal charter from Elizabeth I to trade with the East Indies. It first aimed at the spice trade, but soon concentrated on India, where it dealt in textiles, tea and opium. After the Battle of Plassey in 1757 and the acquisition of the right to collect revenue in Bengal in 1765, the company became a territorial power, ruling large parts of the subcontinent with its own army. The British government gradually increased its control through the Regulating Act of 1773 and the India Act of 1784. After the rebellion of 1857, the Crown took over the company's territories and, a few years later, the company was dissolved.
Before and after
- 17 February 1600Death of Giordano Bruno
- 2 July 1600Battle of Nieuwpoort
- from 22 August 1600 to 5 November 1600Sekigahara Campaign
- 19 November 1600Birth of Charles I of England
- from 31 December 1600 to 1 June 1874Founding of East India Company
- 1601Construction of Jerónimos Monastery
- 27 September 1601Birth of Louis XIII of France
- 24 October 1601Death of Tycho Brahe
- from 1602 to 1799Founding of Dutch East India Company
More in Society, economy & sport
- 8 February 1575Founding of Leiden University
- 5 November 1605Gunpowder Plot
- August 1619The first enslaved Africans arrive in English Virginia
- November 1660Founding of Royal Society of London
- 1734Founding of University of Göttingen
- 14 November 1740Founding of University of Pennsylvania
The era
This moment belongs to the Early modern world (1500 CE to 1760 CE), voyages, printing and new ideas. You can also browse everything in the 16th century.